Amongst the Rubble
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: It felt like a lifetime, and he had barely made it a dozen feet along a twisting path through the worst of the debris, the flames an unpleasant heat at his back, when he finally heard a soft noise that didn't come from shifting debris and he froze. "Freed?"


There was a ringing in Bickslow's ears as he clawed his way back to consciousness, and he shook his head in an attempt to escape the sound, only to realise that was a bad idea as pain lanced through him at the movement. A groan rose in the back of his throat, and he could feel it vibrate in his throat and yet it sounded muted in his ears, as though it was coming from a great distance, the ringing drowning everything else out. _What the hell happened?_ He didn't dare try to move again just yet, not ready to face the pain that he knew would come when he did, and instead, he tried to gather his thoughts.

At first, it was like chasing his dolls whenever they were in a playful mood, always dancing just out of reach at the last minute, and he might have given up in frustration, were it not for the feeling that he was missing something important that was tugging at the back of his mind. _His dolls?_ He couldn't hear them, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the ringing sound, or if they had been caught in whatever the hell had happened to him. However, when he focused on his magic, he could feel the bright sparks that represented their souls scattered around him. They were close, and although they didn't seem to be moving, they seemed to be in one piece. That was a relief because he knew they liked their current forms, and he always felt bad when they had to find new ones. Plus, Freed always seemed to take any damage to them personally.

Freed.

Freed…

Everything else was still a confusing blur, especially whatever the hell had happened to leave him in this state, but that thought cut through it like a gust of icy air. Freed had been with him. He couldn't remember it, but he knew it with the same certainty that he knew that he loved the Rune Mage. They had been together, which meant that if he was in this state, then Freed…

"Freed!" He called, or at least he thought that he did, his own voice still muted in his ears. And now he found the courage to lift his head, gritting his teeth as pain flared down the side of his face at the movement, tasting copper on his lips. He ignored it all, instead focusing on opening his eyes. That was a fight too, and it took him longer than it should have to realise that something was caking his left eye shut, and even longer to reach up to rub at it, realising that he had lost helmet somewhere. It took a minute to clear his face enough to open both eyes, and he grimaced as he spied the blood now staining his fingers before his attention was caught by the charred remnants of his sleeve.

_"Get down!" The warning came a split second before the world around them exploded, the air flooded with heat and flames, and he was in the middle of it and then he wasn't… something slamming into him and hurling him backwards. There had been pain, both from that impact and the flames lashing at him, and then something had stopped his impromptu flight, and everything had gone dark._

_ An explosion?_ _But what were we…_ It hurt to think, and he abandoned his efforts, more interested in trying to clear his vision, blinking furiously. The first thing that greeted him, when his eyes cleared enough for him to make out a blur of colour and shadow, was flames, and he instinctively shrank back, realising that they were a little too close for comfort. His breath caught as something shifted in his side, and it took everything he had not to shout out as he fought the urge to double over in agony, knowing from experience that would just make it worse. Eyeing the flames, he gave himself a moment to take stock – his head was pounding, the ringing still there although it had faded a little, and his side was a throbbing mess of pain now. Not good, but nothing too threatening as far as he could tell for the moment.

The area around him was another matter. The flames were his most pressing concern, and the smoke in the air, making his already compromised breathing worse, but getting out of there wasn't going to be easy. Whatever had caused the explosion had taken out a good chunk of the roof, with parts of it now dangling precariously above his head, while the walls looked as though they had been blown out and then crumbled inwards, leaving the ground littered with debris. Looking at it, it was hard to imagine how he had survived, let alone with so few injuries. _Unless…_

"FREED!" He heard it this time, and he wasn't sure if that was a sign that his hearing was improving, or whether in his terror his voice had been loud enough to break through the ringing. Because he knew Freed, and he knew what he would do to keep him safe, regardless of what it might cost himself.

_"Make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid," Evergreen had told him as she saw them off on their job, frowning as she stared longingly at their bags that were packed and ready to go. She had tried to convince Freed to let her come, but they all knew that she wasn't healed enough to be back on a job just yet, for all that she tried to pretend like she was, and her arguments hadn't got her anywhere. It also stopped Bickslow from making a joke at her request, knowing that she would worry until they were both home because they were all the same and instead, he had nodded._

_"Always."_

_ Please, don't have done anything stupid,_ he thought at his partner now. Knowing that Evergreen was probably going to lynch him if they got out of this. After he had done the same to Freed for risking himself again…

If there was a response, he didn't hear it, and part of him knew that there hadn't been, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. _Freed, please…_ Everything hurt, but he couldn't stay here and he couldn't get out of there until he had found Freed, although he knew that his partner would argue to the contrary. Gathering himself and clenching his jaw against the pain to come, he pushed himself upright. Debris clattered to the side as he moved, and new aches and bruises made themselves known as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He swayed for a second, but Freed was somewhere in this mess and that was all that he needed to lock his elbows and knees in place and take an unsteady breath. _Find Freed and get out of here. Easy…._

_"At least this should be an easy job," Bickslow said, stretching himself out as he stepped out off the train, dolls trailing after him. "Maybe, we could even spend a couple of nights here relaxing once it's done."_

_"You do realise that you've just cursed us," Freed pointed out with a small smile. "But it would be nice to have some time to ourselves, although…"_

_"Ever will be fine," Bickslow interrupted him, knowing exactly what he had been about to say, closing the distance between them and pulling Freed into his arms. "She's going to be hanging out with Elfman and moaning about us leaving her behind. Besides which, she told me to take care of you, and that means making sure you relax a little."_

_"I don't think that's what she meant," Freed retorted, before leaning up to kiss him. "But I think I can live with your interpretation this time."_

_ I really did curse us,_ Bickslow thought with a curse, wincing as his hand caught against a hot piece of metal, yanking it back and trying to find a safer route for the debris. He scanned the area, searching for any sign of Freed, trying not to think about what had slammed into him during the explosion, or what else might have happened while he was unconscious. _He's going to be okay. He has to be okay,_ it was hard to sound convincing even in the safety of his own mind, especially as he heard the building groaning ominously above him, dust trickling down on him and making it even harder for him to breathe.

"Freed? Freed?!" He shouted, choking on dust and smoke, ignoring the pain in his side that intensified with each call. There was no reply from the Rune Mage, but he could feel the dolls starting to stir and wiggle free of the debris, the first of them already echoing his cries for Freed.

It felt like a lifetime, and he had barely made it a dozen feet along a twisting path through the worst of the debris, the flames an unpleasant heat at his back, when he finally heard a soft noise that didn't come from shifting debris and he froze. "Freed?" The noise came again, a soft moan almost lost amongst the other noise and Bickslow shook his head, desperately trying to clear the lingering ringing in his ears. "Freed, where are you?!" He strained, terrified of missing a noise. He might have, were it not for two of the dolls swirling above his head, both appearing a little worse for wear, but as energetic as always as they chanted his partner's name before darting away to the side. With no other choice and more than willing to trust them because of their love for Freed, he crawled after them, clumsily shifting debris aside as best he could.

There…

Material bunched beneath his searching fingers, and he blinked, vision blurring slightly but he was still able to recognise the familiar burgundy. _Freed. _He followed the material and came up short as he found himself facing a mass of tiles, brick and metal and for a moment his heart seemed to stop in his chest. It took him a moment to realise that it was thinner than it had appeared from the front, and with his stomach tying itself in knots, he eased himself around the side, hissing as something gouged the side of his leg but ignoring it, as there between the chunk of ceiling that had collapsed and the wall he found Freed.

His partner was utterly still, and for a terrifying moment, Bickslow wondered if he'd imagined the sounds that he'd heard, but then Freed shifted. Barely more than a slight tensing of his muscles, his face twisting in discomfort as he groaned again, and Bickslow felt as though he could breathe again, even as he realised that the task of getting them both out of here had just got a lot harder.


End file.
